UPDATE 2-Beazer settles with SEC, will not pay fine

(Changes dateline from LOS ANGELES, recasts first sentence adds background)

NEW YORK, Sept 24 (Reuters) - After months of negotiations, home builder Beazer Homes USA Inc (BZH.N) said on Wednesday it settled a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into accounting errors, but will pay no fine, sending its shares up 4 percent in after-hours trading.

Beazer, which had been under investigation for more than a year for its mortgage units' questionable mortgage practices and for accounting irregularities, agreed to a cease and desist order requiring future compliance with certain provisions of federal securities laws and regularities.

But under the deal, the Atlanta-based company did not admit or deny any wrongdoing and will not pay a monetary penalty.

"(The settlement) concludes the SEC's investigation into these matters with respect to the company," Beazer said in a statement.

The company and its Beazer Mortgage Corp unit still face an investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of North Carolina and other state and federal agencies, Beazer said.

The Atlanta-based home builder said it is cooperating fully and "cannot predict or determine the timing or final outcome of the investigations or the effect that any adverse findings in the investigations may have on it."

Beazer last year became the subject of a series of articles by The Charlotte (North Carolina) Observer newspaper that questioned the practices of Beazer's mortgage-origination unit.

The publicity brought Beazer to the attention of the U.S. Attorney's Office and the SEC, which launched formal investigations.

Beazer also responded with its own internal investigation, which it said uncovered accounting irregularities and resulted in the restatements. Last year, it estimated a settlement with federal authorities could cost $8 million to $15 million.

Beazer shares rose 4 percent to $6.15 in extended trading after closing at $5.91 on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Ilaina Jonas and Nichola Groom; editing by Carol Bishopric and Andre Grenon)